Preferred Title:
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Golden Gate, Jerusalem
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Alternate Title:
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Sha'ar Harachamim
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Image View:
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Detail, engaged column and arch with foliate decorative work
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Creator:
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unknown (Byzantine)
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Location:
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site: Jerusalem, Jerusalem (national district), Israel
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Location Note:
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Middle of Eastern wall near Temple Mount
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GPS:
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+31.778889+35.236944
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Date:
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ca. 520 CE (creation)
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Cultural Context:
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Byzantine; Israeli
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Style Period:
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Byzantine; Umayyad
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Work Type 1:
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city gate
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Work Type 2:
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fortification
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Classification:
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architecture
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Material:
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sandstone
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Technique:
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construction (assembling)
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Description:
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The Golden Gate, as it is called in Christian literature, is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls. The present gate was probably built in the 520s CE, as part of Justinian I's building program in Jerusalem, on top of the ruins of the earlier gate in the wall. An alternate theory holds that it was built in the later part of the 7th century by Byzantine artisans employed by the Umayyad khalifs. The Golden Gate is one of the few sealed gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls, along with the Huldah Gates. The Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sealed off the Golden Gate in 1541. While this may have been purely for defensive reasons, in Jewish tradition, this is the gate through which the Messiah will enter Jerusalem. Christians believe this is the gate that Jesus rode through on Palm Sunday; Muslims believe it is the site of the future resurrection. (Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
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Image Description:
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The decorative work was done by Byzantine artisans.
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Collection:
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Archivision Addition Module Eight
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Identifier:
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1A2-IS-J-GOG-A05
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Rights:
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© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
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